


A steady stream of succulents

by Lalalaartje



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Muggle, Detective inspector Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy & Pansy Parkinson Friendship, F/M, Lawyer Draco Malfoy, Lawyer Pansy Parkinson, M/M, Malfoy Nott and Parkinson Persecution Professionals, References to Depression, Stationary salesman Blaise, Stockings, Succulents, Weddings, awkward moments, bartender susan bones, detective inspector Ron Weasley, lawyer Theo Nott, matching tattoos, self partnership, writer Charlie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-16 01:15:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 20,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29445414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lalalaartje/pseuds/Lalalaartje
Summary: The one where Pansy is obsessed with succulents, and Neville sells them. Harry often needs to call a lawyer, and Theo happens to be one. Millie's damn supportive of her writer boyfriend who looks really hot in a kilt. Draco likes to shag, and Blaise isn't about to turn him down. And Ron is just head over heals for his bartending girlfriend.aka the very self-indulgent, groupchat empowered absolute beast that came out of a quick brainstorm when I was out of wip's. The one shot turned into a multi chaptered thing that has its own pinterest board.https://pin.it/3jvhQFO
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Blaise Zabini, Millicent Bulstrode/Charlie Weasley, Neville Longbottom/Pansy Parkinson, Susan Bones/Ron Weasley, Theodore Nott/Harry Potter
Comments: 67
Kudos: 22





	1. Pansy

**Author's Note:**

> As always, I'd like to make it very clear that I (unfortunately) don't own any of these characters. They are either invented by someone else, or very much their own person.  
> I don't intend to gain any profit from this, except that it makes me feel good to play around in fictional universes. 
> 
> Even if I blame you for this, also a big thanks to the most wonderful Hermione's Nook groupchat. it's really brightened my days (and shortened my nights) over the last couple of weeks. You're all wonderful people. <3  
> Enjoy!

Draco looked up from where he stood at the large window overlooking the street as he heard Pansy's heels clicking on the concrete floors. He grinned widely as she walked closer and waited for her to join him. Offering a smile, she wrapped an arm around his waist under his suit jacket and squeezed softly. 

"You've truly outdone yourself, Draco Malfoy," she remarked proudly. “I’ll admit that I had some reservations when you told me about an industrial office space off Carkitt market, but it’s marvellous. Theo's shown me the furniture he ordered, and Gemma talked me through her plans for the reception area. We're going to make it big here." 

"Don't you know it," Draco smirked, removing his left hand from his pocket to wrap an arm around Pansy’s waist. "It was time for us to leave Slytherin Green Attorneys. Severus taught us well, but we've outgrown them."

Pansy let go of Draco and turned around when Theo's dress shoes announced his arrival. "A toast?" He grinned from the doorway, holding up a bottle of whiskey and three glasses. He lazily strolled into the large room that would become their main meeting room. Large windows were overlooking the street below, the glass set in a bronze coloured metal frame, it had concrete flooring and concrete walls to the side, and another glass wall separating it from the rest of the office. 

"To Malfoy, Nott and Parkinson," he announced once he had poured the liquor and handed them their glasses. 

"Professional Persecutors," Pansy added, clinking the rim of her glass against those of her business partners as the anticipation fluttered in her stomach. 

The three of them had met on their first day in law school. They all commuted to uni from their homes in the outskirts of London and had coincidentally been on the same tube train that broke down right in the middle of two stations. It had taken a while before they were allowed to leave, and by the time the three hurried into the large auditorium that hosted their first class, there had only been three seats left at the far back. 

That day had been the beginning of Malfoy, Nott and Parkinson, Professional Persecutors, even if it took them a solid ten years before the dream became a reality. 

“How was your trip to Italy by the way, Parks?” Draco asked as they stood together, all three with their backs to the outside window, instead taking in the office space that was now officially theirs. 

“It was alright. Good to see my nan for a bit, but I’m honestly glad to be back. Being confined in an old cottage in a tiny village for three weeks is about as much as I can take. I’m a people person.”

Theo snickered. “What you mean is that you desperately need to get off, right?” he smirked.

“Darling,” Pansy drawled, stepping into his personal space to grab the lapels of his suit jacket as she tilted her head seductively, looking at him with her best bedroom eyes, “It’s not because I’m partnered with you two flaming homo’s, and therefore spending most of my days with you, that your enormous sex drive has rubbed off on me.” She pushed up on her tiptoes and pressed a sensual kiss on Theo’s cheek, pleased as she admired the red smear her lipstick left behind. 

Theo pulled a face and brought his hand up, trying to get rid of the oily substance stuck to his cheek.

“But you’re still desperate to get off, aren’t you?” Draco added knowingly, and Pansy smirked at him.

“Yes,” she confirmed dryly. The three of them burst out in laughter at their usual banter. “Which is why I called David as soon as my plane touched the ground this morning, and I’m meeting him in… 17 minutes, so ta, loves, see you tomorrow!”

“Tomorrow, Parks!” The two men chimed in unison as they watched her move towards the lift, hips swinging and heels clicking with every step.

The rest of the week was spent mostly furnishing and decorating everyone’s private office-the main meeting room, the smaller office, the kitchen and the reception area. The industrial space asked for large tables with rough wooden tops on metal legs, and Pansy secretly revelled in the possibility of filling up the extra workspace with some plants. Two black and white pictures were framed against the wall, and there was, of course, a filing cabinet, her large desk and some chairs for clients, but the side table and the edge of her desk were reserved for a small selection of succulents.

To Draco’s everlasting amusement, Pansy adored succulents. Ever since she had discovered they were easy to keep and didn’t mind if she forgot to water them, it had become a thing for her. She loved buying new ones, always looking for new varieties in colour or shape. 

“Everything alright?” Draco asked as he strolled into her office. It was Friday afternoon, and after an entire week of furnishing and promoting their new office to old and new clients, all Pansy wanted was a drink and a quiet night in.

“Yes, I’m about done here, I think. Ready to start the real work on Monday. Any news on the paralegal applicants?”

Draco picked up one of the tiny pots that housed a succulent and studied it from up close as he shook his head. “No, not yet, but it’s still early days. I’m guessing we’ll be getting applications over the next couple of weeks. There’ll be new graduates who can’t start at their internships, surely.”

“The succulents are already overflowing into the office, Parks,” Theo remarked as he joined them. 

“I’ll have you know that plants in the office are healthy. They purify the air, hence more oxygen, hence better brain function and thus more money. We’ll talk again when I turn out to be the most viable attorney in this office,” she winked. “You asked to spread the job vacancy around the faculty, didn’t you T?”

“Gemma took care of it, actually. It should be sent out with their weekly newsletter today.”

“Good.”

“Uhm, sorry to interrupt?” came a voice from the doorway. 

“You know you’re always welcome to interrupt,” Draco winked as he waved Gemma, their receptionist into the room.

“I’ve got a call from the police station down the block. They’ve got a suspect who doesn’t have a lawyer and didn’t care who they called. They wanted to ask if any of you would be available.”

Pansy groaned. As starting lawyers in a new firm, they couldn’t afford to turn any work down, but it was Friday and she just  _ really _ wanted to go home.

As she looked up, Draco stood biting his lip. She knew he had agreed to visit his mother tonight. His father had died a year earlier, and Draco tried to visit his mother who now lived all alone in his parental home at least once a week. Fighting back the annoyance welling up, she took a deep breath as she looked at her two friends and partners.

Theo rolled his eyes before sighing and turning to Gemma. “I’ll go, no problem. I’ll just grab my stuff, Gem, and then I’m off. Could you write down who I should ask for?”

“On it,” Gemma smiled brightly and sauntered back to her reception desk just opposite the lift. 

“Here,” Pansy could hear her say as she was pulling on her jacket. “Ask for detective inspector Harry Potter. He’s the one conducting the investigation.”

“Wait up, Theo, I’ll catch the lift with you!” she shouted, picked up her handbag and hurried out of her office.

“See you Monday, Gem, Draco!” she yelled into the large space before slipping through the sliding lift doors as Theo held them open for her. “Thanks again, Theo, you’re a lifesaver for going in on a Friday night.”

Theo smirked. “‘S my middle name, innit? Theo Lifesaver Nott.”


	2. Millie

“Oh, so you’d want to order an entire line of stationary for your firm?” Millie asked, smiling at the, admittedly rather attractive, man who had wandered into the shop right before her lunch break. She would’ve been annoyed about it as she had agreed to meet Charlie in the communal garden, but the man wasn’t half bad to look at, and he was polite, kind and patient about his questions, and had answered hers in the same agreeable way. 

“I could put in separate orders for every product, but I know from experience that we would be able to make you a better offer if I let Blaise handle it. He’s the owner and he’s familiar with all the workarounds of the computer software. If you’ve got a minute?”

The blond man nodded, an amused look on his face. 

“Alright, I’ll go fetch him, he’s just in the back,” she smiled before she pushed through the swinging door that separated the front of the shop from the storage room, the studio and a small kitchen. “Blaise?” she yelled, unsure where he would be.

“Yes?” 

The storage room then. Opening the door, she stuck her head round the corner and grimaced as she found him in the midst of boxes of pencils in every imaginable colour. “I’m so happy you lost the toss this morning, I would’ve hated sorting through these.”

Blaise grumbled and stuck his tongue out at her, obviously no fan of sorting through the backorders either. 

“What was it you needed me for?”

“Oh, yeah, almost forgot. Uhm, one of the lawyers from that new firm on the first floor’s here, they want an entire line of stationary, paper, envelopes, ballpoint pens, the lot. So I told him you’d be able to get them a better offer.”

“Oh, yes, alright. Tell him I’ll be right there. If you flip the sign on your way out, you can start your lunch break, love. I know you’d want to go and see Charlie.”

A large grin took over her face. “Thanks, Blaise.” She pulled back into the narrow hallway before changing her mind and smirking at her boss. “Oh, and uhm, you might wanna get the dust out of your hair, the guy’s rather hot,” she winked, cackling as Blaise’s deep brown skin tone got a slight reddish tint to it.

“Blaise’ll be right with you, Mr. - Hold on, which one are you, Nott, Parkinson and… what’s the first one again?”

“Malfoy,” the man smiled. “Draco Malfoy.”

“Well, nice to meet you, Mr. Malfoy, I’ll probably see you around, then!”

“Always a pleasure, miss... ?”

Millie smiled as she took the hand he had offered. “Bulstrode, Millicent Bulstrode, but call me Millie please, as does everyone.”

“Then you should call me Draco. Enjoy your lunch break, Millie, and my apologies for coming in so shortly before it.”

She blushed slightly at the idea that she might have shown her annoyance. “No worries, sir - Draco. And thanks.”

A quick look outside told her it was probably quite warm, so she decided against taking a coat and only picked up her handbag before hurrying to the front of the shop. As she flipped the sign and opened the front door, she could already see Blaise emerging from the back.

The sun was out, and, as she had estimated the temperature close enough. Her moss green woolen dress was, with its long sleeves, more than warm enough for the late spring weather. Lifting her wrist to look at the time, she upped her tempo just the slightest bit. Charlie would already be waiting for her and she was dying to know how his appointment had gone.

She was almost running, or at least as much as her heeled ankle boots allowed her to, when she rounded the corner to the communal garden. It was almost right in the middle between work and their flat, so if the weather was alright, she and Charlie liked to meet there for a walk and to eat their lunch at one of the rickety picnic tables. 

Charlie was easy to spot, and she gave him a quick wave while she covered the last meters before finally reaching him. “Hi,” she breathed, tilting her head back to kiss him before taking the time to catch her breath. As she looked him up and down, she chuckled lowly as she noticed his attire. “Looks like we’re matching today,” she joked, holding a corner of his kilt to her dress as proof that they were the exact same shade. “Is it a new one?”

“Hmm,” he nodded. “Bill sent it to me as a late birthday present, it came in the mail this morning.”

Millie snorted at the information. “He  _ does _ know it’s May and your birthday is December 12th, right?”

Charlie shrugged. “You know what he’s like. Doesn’t know how old he is himself half of the time.” Moving the bag in his left hand to his right one, he grabbed her hand and pulled her along into the garden. 

“True that. Now tell me how the meeting went, what did Kenna say?”

He smiled his brilliant smile and she could tell it was at least good news, then. “She really liked the last draft, and the illustrations, so she’s sending it on, and she’s positive that one of the publishers will want it.”

“Oh love, that’s brilliant,” Millie exclaimed, stopping to face him fully. She reached a hand up to stroke his cheek. “I knew it was the right decision to stick with dragons and don’t switch to dinosaurs like that idiot Jeffrey said you would have to. I’ve got the feeling that Kenna will be much better for you. I’m really happy!” She pulled his face down and smacked a sounding kiss to his lips. “And proud, so proud.”

“Hi Millie, Charlie!” 

They turned around to see who was greeting them and found Neville, the owner of the plant shop right next to the communal garden, planting seeds in one of the flower beds.

“Oh, hi Neville, didn’t see you there,” Millie greeted. “Everything alright?”

“As always,” he beamed. “Just taking advantage of my lunch break to fill this flower bed up with some wildflowers to attract bees and butterflies. You?”

“Well, Charlie is about to get his book published, so couldn’t be better.”

“Woah, that’s awesome. Congratulations mate! I’d shake your hand but…” he trailed off, looking at the dirt covering his hands. “Well, still happy for you.”

Charlie chuckled. “Thanks, man.”

“Oh Millie, I meant to ask, how’s that orchid doing? I’m still willing to foster it for a couple of weeks if it’s not recovering.”

“Damn it, didn’t I tell you?” Millie replied. “I was able to revive it, Nev, your tips worked perfectly, it’s even blooming again.”

“Ah, brilliant. Well, I’ll leave you to it, then, and get on with this before I need to open the shop again.”

“See you later, Nev,” they both called in unison before they continued their walk toward the middle of the garden for lunch.

“You didn’t have to walk me all the way back,” Millie grinned coyly as they arrived at the door of Zabink. 

Charlie chuckled. “I know, but I haven’t got any plans for the afternoon, and I just liked watching you a little longer in that delicious dress of yours.”

She threw her head back in laughter, delighted that, even after three years, she could still get his attention by wearing a boatneck dress. “I’ll make sure to come home straight after work then, alright?” she winked, pressing a far less obscene kiss to his lips than she would’ve wanted to. 

“I won’t be hungry for actual food, dinner can wait,” he grinned back as he winked and turned around to walk the short end back to their flat, his kilt swaying left to right with his movements.

Well, he still knew how to get  _ her  _ attention as well.

Reaching to push open the door to the shop, she shook her head to get rid of the distracting thoughts, but then almost fell inside when the door was pulled open. 

“Oh! Draco. Hi.” she stammered, only to recover quickly. “Again,” she added, with a sly look at her boss who was rubbing the back of his neck behind the counter. “Hope Blaise was able to help you out.”

The blush rising on Draco’s cheeks was utterly delightful, she noted, and she could barely keep her giggle in as the blond man simply nodded quickly before hurrying out the door.

She stood in the middle of the shop as she looked back and forth between the door and Blaise, raising an eyebrow when he rolled his eyes.

“Yes, he’s hot. And yes, I might have tried to find out if he’s single.”

“And?”

“‘M not sure yet… Asked him to join us Friday night at the Fountain, but he said he already had an appointment. Not sure if it was an excuse.”

“Please, Blaise, I’ve been gone for an hour.  _ Nobody _ needs an hour to order custom stationary.”


	3. Theo

Needing a break from pouring over files in an attempt to find a decent chance for his newest client, Theo wandered out of his office. Draco’s door was closed, and a quick look through the glass wall told him he was interviewing for the paralegal position. Pansy’s was open, but her office was empty as she had a court day. Gemma, then. She wouldn’t mind distracting him for a bit.

He made a detour by the kitchen to fetch a cup of coffee and then ended up at the reception desk.

He picked up the pen that was on top of the counter, frowned as he studied it, and then picked up another two that were on Gemma’s desk. 

“Gem, why do we need three different types of pens with our logo on them?”

She looked up from her computer, took off her headphones and grinned at him. “I’ve got nothing to do with that,  _ Draco _ took care of the stationary. Think the hot owner of the stationary business on the ground floor  _ might _ have something to do with it," she whispered conspirationally. 

“Oh god,” Theo groaned. “Let’s hope they get the tension resolved quickly or we’ll be drowning in pens, paper, envelopes and god knows what else he can order to put our logo on it!”

Gemma chuckled. “That bad?”

“Ugh, you have no idea. When we were in uni, he had a crush on a guy that worked at the pizza place next to the tube station. He forced us to eat pizza for MONTHS before they finally slept together. I still can’t stand the smell of pepperoni.” Theo shuddered. 

“Seems weirdly out of character,” Gemma mused. “He seems to me like the kind of guy that just goes for what - or who - he wants. He always seemed like that at Slytherin’s as well.”

Theo hummed. “Yeah, he usually is. But sometimes… when he really likes someone, he gets nervous. He’s uhm… he’s told you right, that he’s self-partnered? At first, we thought it was a bunch of bulshit and just a fancy word for single, but turns out that there's actual reasoning behind it.”

“Who knew?!” Gemma chuckled. “But yes, he mentioned it, over tea sometime.”

“So yeah, he’s really adamant on staying that way. He wants the fun side of a partnership, but none of the complexities. Which is why it usually ends up going horribly wrong, because either the other party wants all in, or they want absolutely no strings attached.”

“Okay…”

“Basically, he just wants none of the responsibilities that come with a relationship, but still the trustworthiness and monogamy. ‘S not that easy to find.”

“How did it end with pizza-guy?”

“Nasty. Ugly crying while waiting for blood-results nasty. My pepperoni-hate might stem from that part more than the first.”

“Yaiks” Gemma pulled a face. “He’s a catch though, our Dra-” she was cut off by the telephone ringing. She put her headphones back on with an apologetic look and pressed the button to take the call. “Malfoy, Nott and Parkinson, how can I help you?”

Theo put back the pens from where he was still toying with them and pushed himself up from the desk, ready to get back to his paperwork.

“Theo,” hissed Gemma, holding one finger up to ask him to wait. “Okay, yes, I’ll see what we can do, one moment please.” 

Theo looked at her questioningly. 

“Detective inspector Potter. Another suspect without a lawyer. If we had someone to spare…”

“Oh, uhm,” Theo mentally checked his planner but came up blank.

“You don’t have any appointments left for the day. Draco’s got another job interview in an hour and a half, and Pansy’s still in court. She didn’t say when she would be back.”

“Ah, well. I will probably regret this when I’m up until midnight studying files once more, but yeah, I don’t mind,” Theo shrugged. “Tell him I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

  
  


“Theo, are you skiving off already?” Pansy called teasingly as she leaned on his door frame as she watched him lock away his files and pack his bag.

He rolled his eyes. “Police needed someone again. How did it go this morning?”

“Won all three cases,” Pansy grinned. “I swear the counterparty paled a little when she was up against me for the third time,” she laughed. “Ahhh, gotta love it when your reputation precedes you.”

He looked up from where he was putting his laptop away. “True that, Parks, true that. Congrats, love.”

“Thanks, T. And thanks for picking up another police-case, they’re never our favourite jobs.”

“It’s alright, last one was pretty straight forward. Anyway, I’m off, see you on Thursday, got two sessions in juvenile planned, tomorrow. ‘S only four cases but you know how it goes… We’re still baby-lawyers so we get to wait until the old dinosaurs did their cases.”

“Ugh, I feel you. It’s always strangely rewarding when one of the other offices sends their interns and you’re not the youngest though.”

“The only time you’re happy to be reminded of the proximity of middle age,” Theo said solemnly, only to laugh at her glare right after. “Gotta run, Parks, say bye to Draco when he’s done interviewing.”

“Take an umbrella, it’s pouring!” Pansy yelled after him, right in time for him to grab one of the generic black ones they always kept in the stand next to the lift. 

“Thanks, don’t wanna ruin this suit, it shows off my arse!”

  
  


His dress shoes didn’t allow for him to run, but he still walked as fast as he could. The station was luckily just down the block, but he could already feel his hair starting to frizz and the bottom of his trousers starting to soak up the rain from the puddles on the sidewalk.

Once inside the warmth of the police station, he stepped into the men’s room across the desk to run a hand through his fringe, fixing the worst of the frizzing with his emergency bottle of hairspray.

Once he deemed his appearance acceptable, he made his way towards reception to let them know he was here for detective inspector Potter.

Before he had made it down the end of the short cue, he heard someone calling for him already.

“Mr. Nott, right?”

“Ah, inspector, that’s me,” he smiled. Even if he had only met the man once the week before, he already appreciated him. The interrogation Theo had witnessed last week had been a wonderful piece of work. “Are you going to treat me to another sample of your excellent interrogation techniques this afternoon?”

The other man chuckled, and… did Theo spot a blush rising on his golden skin? Interesting…

“Ah, who knows, it took us a while to get somewhere with this case. Ron will be leading it though, he’s done most of the hard work,” Potter explained as he lead them through the hallway until they reached a landscape office. “Ron!” he called, effectively drawing the attention of a redheaded man at the far side of it. “Lawyer’s here, we can start with the Gibbler case!”

“Hi, ‘m Ron,” the lanky man introduced himself as he neared them, offering Theo his hand. “Ron Weasley.”

“Theo Nott,” Theo replied.

“Ah well, call me Harry, then,” the black haired man next to him interjected with a smile. “We might see each other more often anyway. Would you like to see your client in private first?”

“Yes, please.”

Three hours later, Theo was absolutely knackered and glad the interrogation was over and done with. While the evidence against his client was frankly overwhelming, the man had been adamant that he had nothing to do with the smuggling case. Right up to when the detectives confronted him with the bags they'd found under his pillow at the search, including his fingerprints on them. 

His client was taken into custody, and after leaving his card with him, Theo had a few minutes alone in the room. He could feel a headache coming and he rubbed his eyes to try and fight it, but he already knew it was useless. 

"Sorry that took so long, we never would've guessed he'd be that stubborn," Harry apologised as he walked back into the room. His black hair was disheveled from raking his hands through it over the course of the interrogation but his green eyes were bright. 

"Ah, as you say, not your fault," Theo smirked. "Nothing I haven't seen before though." 

Harry chuckled. "yeah, same."

Theo gave him a tired smile and started gathering his notes, marking them in the top right corner to make sure he'd remember what case they were from. 

"Hey, uhm, Ron and I were going to go for a drink, his girlfriend runs this bar down the street, and you know, we've got something to celebrate, if you wanted to join us, we'd like that."

"Oh," Theo was a bit taken aback. 

"Shit, sorry, forget I asked, of course you can't, deontological conflicts and such," Harry hurriedly added, looking everywhere but at Theo. 

"Oh no, Harry, that's quite alright," he found himself reaching out to put his hand on the other man's arm. "I mean, the two of you are done with the case, and as long as you can handle me calling out when you're going over the line in any further cases, it's okay."

"Oh, so you're coming?" 

"I would like to, but now that I've spent the afternoon here, I've neglected my preparation for my court sessions tomorrow, so it'll be just a long night between me and my files, I'm afraid."

"Harry, are you coming? I already called Susan to save us some fish and chips!" Ron called from just outside the door. 

Harry looked up, and then back at Theo. It looked as if he wanted to say something, but then changed his mind. "Yeah, let's go," he nodded. "See you later, Theo! 


	4. Ron

"Hello boys," Susan greeted Ron and Harry with a broad smile as they came in through the door. She winked at Harry before she bent over the bar to press a long kiss to Ron's lips, warranting some cat calls from a few of her regulars. They always did that, she always flipped them off, they laughed at her and then it was back to business. 

"Long day?" Bending down to fetch a bottle of cider from the fridges, she looked at Ron, smirking knowingly. From that angle, he would be able to get a good look down her shirt and she loved teasing him with it. 

"The worst," Ron sighed. "But that big smuggling case I've been telling you about is finally wrapped up and our Harry here has offered to finish the paperwork," he grinned. 

"More like you tricked me because I ate the last cupcake." Harry grumbled. 

"Ah, Mariana's?" Susan asked knowingly as she pulled them both a beer. "Fish'n chips coming up, by the way, Kira’s on it."

"Yes, Romero brought them for his birthday yesterday, he's the only one who generates that much traffic in the tearoom," Ron smirked. 

"I can only imagine… Her cupcakes are to die for. Which reminds me, she brought some over this afternoon as she's trying out some new flavours. I don’t really get the cupcake loving crowd though, so there’s still a few left in the back if you want.” 

Ron grinned at her and nodded happily, already licking his lips at the idea. 

After a little while, their food arrived and, since the crowd was starting to thicken, both men moved towards their usual booth. Susan blew Ron a kiss, and whenever she had the chance, she’d sit down to talk to them for a minute.

Every now and then, there would be a patron who felt like her low neckline or short skirt were an invitation to touch or make an inappropriate remark, but Ron had learned early on in their relationship that Susan was perfectly capable of handling it herself. By now, he merely looked up when she raised her voice, checking if everything was alright, but he found that she hardly ever needed a knight in shining armour. Or a police officer-boyfriend, for that matter.

He’d first met her almost 6 years ago. He’d been fresh out of police academy and only just been partnered with Harry, who was a year his senior when she caught his eye in the cafeteria. She’d been more subdued, back then, and he had found that he wanted nothing more than to tease a smile out of the pretty girl working behind the counter. Later on, when she had finally agreed to go out for a cup of tea with him, he had learned that it were simply difficult times for her. Both her parents had died in a car crash, only a month before he’d first seen her in the station’s cafeteria. As an only child, she’d inherited their house and some savings, but living at her parental home had become too difficult, the memories hiding in every nook and cranny would overwhelm her when she least expected it. Thus, she had decided to empty out the house with the help of her aunt who lived in Sweden and left for London, determined to find a new life there.

Little did she know that only three months later, she would be sitting in Molly Weasley’s kitchen. She and Ron hadn’t even been officially dating, but once the Weasley Matriarch had heard about the tragedy she’d been through, she had been adamant that Ron had to bring her home with him. 

Ever since, Susan had been unofficially adopted by the Weasleys. Ron could only be happy that their relationship worked out well enough, because he wasn’t quite sure if his mother would actually pick him over Susan. 

Over the years, Susan had sold her parental house in Mullingar and used the money to buy the bar. She had always combined the station’s cafeteria with some bartending job, and in the end she felt like that was what she wanted to do. When Ron had told her the Fountain of Fair Fortune was up for sale, she had jumped to the opportunity and never looked back.

It was around 10pm when the crowd had finally thinned out enough to allow Susan to sit with them, and Ron smiled at her when she allowed him to pull her close to him in the booth. 

“Oh look at that, you’ve even left me a cupcake,” she chirped happily, picking up the last one off the plate that she’d brought them earlier. It was decorated with the most magnificent colours of buttercream that reminded him of a galaxy and once you bit into it, it seemed like the taste exploded in your mouth. The cake itself was a simple vanilla with bitter chocolate chips, but in the middle was a core of thick, creamy salted caramel that dripped out of it.

“Christ, this is good,” Susan moaned, her Irish lilt coming through with her fatigue. 

“Isn’t it? We’ll have to let Matteo know to bring some for the annual picnic next month,” Ron laughed. He leaned over to lick a tiny drop of caramel from her lips and hummed exaggeratedly in appreciation. 

She rolled her eyes at him but couldn’t help the smile tugging on her lips. She just loved his antics. “Oh, right babe, I forgot. Bill sent us something in the mail again, seems like he’s in Scotland,” she mused. “A local beer for me, and another few packages of panini football stickers. Left it at home.”

Harry laughed at Ron’s excited face at the mention of his gift. “Aw, Ron, hope it has a glittery sticker this time,” he teased, earning him a kick in the shin under the table. 

“Talking about glittery stickers,...” Ron trailed off, looking at Susan with a twinkle in his eyes. “Harry has a crush.”

“On a glittery sticker?” Susan asked, confused.

“No! I just mean he turns into a glittery sticker whenever he sees the man.”

“Shut up, Ron, I haven’t got a crush on ‘im.”

“You damn well do, and you know it.” Ron laughed. “Can’t blame you though… if I were into blokes… ouch!” he recoiled when Susan hit him round the head. “And wasn’t happily involved with this lovely Irishwoman, of course.”

“Now spill the beans, both of ya!” Susan urged, already leaning across the table to make sure she caught every single detail.

“We needed a lawyer for a suspect last week, and neither of our usual go to-firms could spare someone, but Harry remembered passing by a new one,”

“Oh, the one on the first floor at Zabink?” Susan asked. “I’ve seen their sign when I went in to get new cards.”

“That’s the one,” Harry confirmed.

“And, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted,” Ron winked. “They sent someone over… Theo… what was it?”

“Nott.”

“Right, Theo Nott. And Harry’s been besotted ever since. Called them back today and he was almost glowing when he saw it was the same lawyer who had answered his call.”

Susan smiled sweetly at Harry once Ron had finished, and clapped his shoulder as she stood up. “I hope it works out for ya, Harry, you deserve a happy ever after.”

He smiled up at her, the looks they exchanged another sign that they shared something Ron had no notion of as they both had lost both of their parents at the same time, even if Harry had been younger when it had happened. “Thanks Suze, but honestly, Ron’s exaggerating again.”

“Oh yeah, he’s good at that,” she nodded knowingly. “Anyway, I should go and help Kira clean up the kitchen and behind the counter, so we can head home soon.”


	5. Charlie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this was my first proper try at het smut, so be kind, lol
> 
> so, fair warning: smuttiness ahead! Proceed at your own risk! ;)

Charlie was startled by the ringing of his phone as he sat up in bed, reading while Millie was still sound asleep next to him. Friday was her morning off work and she always liked to sleep in. He grinned widely at the thought of what had kept them up late the night before. He quickly grabbed his phone from his night stand, checking if she was still asleep as he slipped out of bed to go into the living room to answer the call.

“Charlie?”

“Oh, hello Charlie, it’s Bethany, Miss Kenna’s secretary? I’m sorry to disturb you this early, I know you’ve mentioned that you take time off work on Friday mornings, but Miss Kenna wanted me to try and call you anyway.”

“It’s not a problem, Bethany. Besides, 10am is hardly very early, is it? I was up anyway. What did Kenna want me for?”

“She said she has some exciting news for you, but I’m afraid she wouldn’t let me in on the secret either. I promise you it’s not because I didn’t try to get it out of her.”

Charlie chuckled. He’d come to know both women as kind and professional, yet the relationship dynamic between them was still a mystery to him.

“Oh. okay, did she want you to put me through?” 

“No, no, she’s out of office all morning. But she wanted to know if you would be available to meet her at 2pm this afternoon, here at the office?”

“Uhm, yes, sure. I don’t think I have any plans, and definitely nothing that can’t be rescheduled. I’ll be there.”

“Great, Charlie, I’ll let Miss Kenna know!”

“I’ll see you later, then Bethany.”

Hanging up his phone, Charlie couldn’t help the grin pulling on his lips. Could it really be that Kenna had gotten him a deal already? It was only a little over a week since she’d sent the manuscript on to some publishers, but he couldn’t think of any other exciting news that warranted an impromptu meeting on Friday afternoon. 

He quickly made his way back into the bedroom, barging through the door without a care for his sleeping girlfriend and jumped on the bed next to her.

She grumbled as she pulled the covers further up to her neck, but he pulled them down again as he happily called her name.

“Millie! Millie, wake up, c’me on!” he urged, worming his way under the covers again.

“Charlie, ‘m sleepin’!” she grumbled as she turned her back to him. “Lemme sleep, we can go again later before I’ve got to go into work, you f’ck’n animal.”

Charlie chuckled. “While I am never opposed to doing  _ that _ again, sweetheart, it’s not why I woke you up,” he vowed, causing her to turn back slightly and force one eye open.

“It’s not?”

He shook his head. “Kenna wants to meet up with me this afternoon, Bethany said she’s got some exciting news.”

“Charlie!” Millie was suddenly wide awake and moved so she was leaning on her elbow next to him as she peered down at him.

He grinned and nodded. “I know! It can hardly be anything else than a publishing deal, can it?”

“I’m sure that’s exactly what it’s about!” she squealed, pressing a big kiss to his lips as she shifted to straddle his chest. “I’m so happy for you!”

“Me too,” Charlie grinned, clearing his throat when she moved further down, the thin fabric of her nightgown clinging to her breasts and stomach as it pulled taut around her arse. 

She snorted knowingly as she leaned further forward, her thighs pressing into his hips in the most delicious way before she wiggled her bum in his lap. “Well… this calls for a celebration, and since I’m awake already…”

God damnit, this woman was going to be the death of him. A very happy death, indeed.

She bit her lip seductively, a wicked glint in her eyes as she threw off the covers before she closed the distance between their mouths. Charlie heard himself gasp more than he actually registered doing it before she captured his lips with hers. The kiss was sweet, at first, their lips only the slightest bit parted as they nipped at each other. It wasn’t long though, before Millie’s tongue took part in the exchange, licking his lips in short, measured movements as the wet sounds increased. His hands came up to grab her hips, the lascivious flesh giving under his strong grip. A moan escaped, he could only tell from the low timbre that it was his, as he opened his mouth to let her lick into it. She met his tongue with languid, sensual strokes while she flattened herself further onto his chest, his hands moving to her arse to grab the fleshy globes and squeezing them with his long fingers. It was Millie’s time to moan now, squeezing her thighs around his hips as she ground down on him. 

“Let me show you how proud I am,” she whispered as she pulled up, her lips bright red and obscenely swollen from his stubble. 

“Please,” it was no more than a hoarse whisper as he watched how she sat up and first took of his boxershorts, and then pulled her nightgown up over her head, her breast bouncing slightly with the movement and he couldn’t even think about stopping his hands from reaching up to cup them, her nipples already hardening from exposure to the air. He ran his fingers over the undersides, relishing in how their curve seemed to be made for his hands before he put his palms over the hardened nubs, squeezing them slightly. The way she licked her lips was frankly obscene and he saw how she had to close her eyes for a second to gather her wits. Her eyes were glazed over as she looked up at him again, and he imagined his own weren’t much better. Holding herself on her hands, pressing into the mattress next to his shoulders, she leaned closer. Her pert nipples brushed his chest teasingly before her breasts were pressed down against him as she moved herself so she was lying in between his legs, giving him a dirty grin before she slid further down. She left one last, sultry kiss to his lips before moving down his neck, her moist lips making him shiver as she moved over his most sensitive spots. She licked along his clavicle, bit his shoulder in that way she  _ knew _ would drive him crazy and grinned wickedly as he bucked up against her. She didn’t let up though, but simply continued on her way down, pressing wet kisses across his chest, tugging his chest hair between her fingers as she licked a moist path down his stomach to his thighs. She expertly avoided the spot where he wanted her mouth the most, instead moving over to his inner thighs. One hand stroked with nimble fingers along his groin, the other licked over the lines of the dragon he had tattooed on his upper right thigh, her tongue meeting the animal’s as it curled around to his inner thigh. 

She didn’t even try to shush him, his back arched in pleasure already while the moans kept falling from his lips. 

Moving down a little more, she licked his inner thigh from the knee up, only to pull away and repeat the same thing on his left leg. 

“Unghhhh, Mils, please,” he writhed, his hand on her cheek to make her look up. “Please,” he repeated as they locked eyes.

“Hmmm, don’t know, Char. Do you really think you know how proud I am of you? Already?”

You’re a wicked woman,” he panted. “I can feel it in my bones though.” 

“Yeah? Here, too, I bet,” she replied breathily, opening her mouth and leaning down to engulf his cock in the wet warmth of her mouth. 

He moaned loudly as her tongue swirled around him in a chaotic pattern. She pulled off a little, only to move back down, her tongue flattening against the vein throbbing at the underside of his dick. 

As much as he wanted to watch her, the way she closed her eyes in devotion, the way her breasts swayed slightly with every move, he couldn’t keep his eyes open as she assaulted his every sense. The air in the bedroom was growing heavy with their combined scent and he imagined that there would already be a wet patch in her knickers. She hummed around him and the vibrations made him thrust up into her mouth before he could stop himself. She pulled off and tutted playfully at him before she put a hand on his hip to keep him steady, only to take him back into her mouth, moving down until he hit the back of her throat. He heard her taking a deep breath through her nose before she swallowed around him, her head moving further until her nose was buried in the downy patch of hair. 

One hand reached down, rolling his balls in her palm and pulling them down from where his arousal pulled them up against his body. Her head came up again, and she sat back on her heels as one hand kept fondling his balls, her tongue leaving small kitten licks along his length, toying with his foreskin while her eyes stayed locked with his.

He reached out for her, wanting to feel her run his hands over her body, and finally, she gave in. She crawled back towards his head, straddling him once more. His hands cupped her cheeks, running his thumbs over them before they wandered down, following the luscious curves of her body. Her shoulders, the shape of her clavicles giving way to the valley between her breasts. The round curve where they touched the skin of her stomach, her nipples proudly pointing up as if they were waiting for his fingers to pinch and roll them. 

“Mmm,” she moaned, rolling her hips against his crotch in search of friction. The musky sweetness of her arousal was even more apparent now that she was closer and it made his mouth water. He let his hands move further down, over her waist, his thumbs brushing over the softness of her stomach before they squeezed her hips and travelled further down to her inner thighs. He could feel her muscles tremble in anticipation as he stroked softly along the edge of her knickers, the soft fabric giving way to his touch already. He moved his hand further to the middle, turning it so that his fingers laid flat against her core, his palm pressing her clit against her pubic bone. He let his middle finger press inside the tiniest bit, the red cotton moist against his skin. He watched on with parted lips as she gasped, threw her head back and pressed her core harder against his hand. He curled it a bit further, pushing his finger as deep as it would go through her panties. He wiggled his fingertip a little bit, and while it made her moan, it was not enough. Never enough. He pushed the fabric to one side while he let his fingers lightly stroke her folds, opening her up for his middle finger to slide inside. The moan she let out when his palm touched her flesh was absolutely filthy and went straight to his groin. She rolled his hips once more, her arse pressing against his erection and it was excruciatingly hot. He pulled his finger back until it was almost completely out, rubbing it around her entrance in the way that he knew she loved. Another one slipped along when he thrust back in, curling his fingers to press against her walls where he knew a bundle of nerves originated. In the same time, his thumb found its way to her clit, tapping it in an irregular rhythm to keep her from predicting his moves and adjust her own to it. 

Unable to stay sitting up, she fell down on his chest, her long hair falling over her face as she writhed on top of him. Her fingers clawed into his shoulders as he thrust his fingers deeper into her. He kept the pace slow, letting her pleasure build gradually until she was moaning and panting hard enough to be unable to form any intelligible words. 

“Char, Char!” she panted, her mouth finding its way to his to engage him in a sloppy, filthy kiss while he still fucked and rubbed her. “Fuuuuuuck.” 

He held still for a few seconds as she squeezed around him, her entire body shaking as she rode the waves of her climax and then started up his movements once more until she stopped him as she gripped his hands. 

“Want you, c’me on,” she panted, moving to the side to pull her knickers down her trembling thighs and throwing them on the floor behind her.

He half expected her to lay down to give her trembling muscles some well deserved rest, but before he could move, she was already climbing back on top of him, straddling his hips as she held herself up over his straining erection. He could tell it would take all of his restraint not to come undone as soon as she took him in, but he was nothing if not perseverant. He held his dick while she positioned herself and lowered her hips until he was pressing against her entrance. He then let his hand fall to her hip instead, and the other to the delightful curve of her breast and focused hard on keeping his hips still while she sank down over him. 

As soon as her arse met with his hips, she rose up again, setting a murderous tempo that he tried to keep up with, thrusting into her at the same time that she ground down on him. 

He could feel her trembling around him and put his hands on her hips to help her move up and down, their eyes locking as they both neared climbed higher and higher to the point of no return.

“Fuck, Mils, so close,” he stammered, his thrusts getting more erratic as her movements grew sloppier as well.

“Yeah, I know, nearly there.” 

He moved her hand up to press against her clit but she slapped it away, instead leaning forward so it would get pressed up to her pubic bone every time she slammed down on him. He let his hand fall back onto her hip, squeezing the flesh hard enough to bruise, just as they liked. They loved marking and being marked as a reminder of who they belonged with. Not that they needed it, but it was still nice to press the bruises afterwards and remember the way they got there, who got them there. 

Her thighs were now trembling too hard to allow her to keep up the tempo, so instead he held her still on top of him and thrust into her as he chased his orgasm. He pulled her face to hers, initiating another sloppy kiss before he felt her squeeze around him, pulling the orgasm from him as they both shuddered to completion. 

Once they had both caught their breath, Charlie reached up, brushing a strand of hair behind Millie’s ear as he gave her a besotted smile.

“That’s…  _ really _ proud.”

She chuckled, smacking a wet kiss to his lips before she cautiously sat up, allowing him to slip out of her as she went to lie down next to him. Her fingers found the hair on his chest and tugged on it while she sighed happily. “Told you.”

  
  


They dozed off together for a bit, until Millie’s alarm brought the fact that they both had more responsibilities that day to their attention once more. 

Charlie grinned at her in the bathroom mirror as he came up behind her, pressing a kiss behind her ear while she brushed her teeth. “You’ve got beard burn around your mouth,” he smirked.

She spit out her tooth paste and rolled her eyes. “I know. Can’t wear lipstick or it’ll look like I’m someone’s aunt Ethel who has a bad tremor but still applied their own lipstick.”

Charlie laughed, picking up a hairbrush to run it through his own hair before starting on hers. “Still like it though, as a reminder of what we were up to,” he smiled. She turned around in his arms and kissed him sweetly. 

“Not that I need the reminder, but yes, I agree. Don’t forget we’ve agreed to meet Ron and Suze at the Fountain tonight? Blaise’ll be there too, I think.”

“I remembered,” he grinned proudly.

“Anyway, gotta run, good luck with Kenna this afternoon!”

“Oh, hi, Charlie! You alright?”

“I’m perfect, Bethany, thanks. You?” he replied as he walked up towards her desk in front of her boss’s office.

“Always fine when I’m here, Charlie,” she winked. “You can sit down for a second, I’ll just go and tell Miss Kenna that you’re here.”

Charlie was left wondering what was going on with the two women as it somehow took Bethany 10 minutes to alert Kenna of his arrival, but before he could think much further, the door to Kenna’s office opened and he was invited in.

“Did you want me to take notes of the meeting, Miss Kenna?” Bethany asked as she adjusted her skirt.

“No, that won’t be necessary, I believe. Thanks Bethany,” Kenna smiled kindly. “If you could just bring in tea? Or would you prefer coffee, Charlie?”

“Tea is perfectly fine, thanks.”

“Will be right up, Miss Kenna.”

Charlie smiled as he followed the red haired woman into her office, looking at her expectantly as she took her seat behind her desk.

“So…” she started.

“So?”

“I’ve got a publishing deal for you,” she grinned.

Charlie closed his eyes as he felt his smile grow. “Awesome.”

“Isn’t it?” Kenna grinned. “And what’s even better, is that they want more. Three books to start with, each illustrated in full colour, and if that goes well, there’s probably room for more.”

Charlie’s eyes widened at the news, that was… 

“They want to go all out with the promo on the first one, have book signings all over London, a giant launch party and everything. They obviously believe in the stories about your Romanian Dragon Reserve, Charlie, just like I knew someone would.”

“I can hardly believe it… I mean, it’s taken me two years before someone liked them enough to send them through,” Charlie replied, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Well, it’s true,” Kenna grinned, pausing when Bethany came in with their tea. “Thanks, love,” she winked, waiting unil she had shut the door behind her once more.

“The only possible problem I see, is that they want the second book within the year after the first one’s released, and the third a year after that. Do you think you can manage that?”

Charlie nodded. “I’ve got first drafts for seven books lying around. It shouldn’t take me more than a year to get them fleshed out and illustrated.”

“Excellent! Well, that only leaves us to go over the details in the model contract they sent me, and then you can go and celebrate,” she winked.


	6. Harry

“I’m, uhm, I’m gonna… make a phone call,” Harry muttered, pointing at his portable phone as he got up from his desk and walked to one of the interviewing rooms adjacent to their landscape office. He tried to ignore the odd look Ron threw him. It wasn’t  _ that  _ strange to seek some quiet and privacy to make a phone call. A landscape office ensured an everlasting buzz of people coming in and out, papers rustling and colleagues talking amongst each other. Sometimes, Harry needed silence to focus on his calls. Even if, currently, he and Ron were the only ones of their office to be on duty. 

Dialing the number, he realised he already knew it by heart, but he still liked to double check on the business card he had been given. It was a little worn on the edges from being pulled out and put back into his wallet, but the characters were still perfectly clear.

“Thank you for calling Malfoy, Nott and Parkinson, this is Gemma speaking, how may I help you today?”

“Uhm, hi Gemma, it’s Harry Potter calling, from uhm, the police station?”

“Oh yes, hello Mr. Potter, I thought I recognised the number.” He could practically hear her smile through her voice and it was oddly comforting. “Are you in need of a lawyer again?”

“Oh, no! Or well, yes. But uhm, not for someone to come in. I just wondered if I could talk to someone to check off some things in an investigation we’re currently conducting, see if we’re missing any possible procedural things or if there are any loopholes we should think about, you know.”

“Aha, uhm, let me just check for you, Mr. Potter. I’ll be right with you.” He thought he might have heard her chuckle but he couldn’t be sure, as the waiting music started up. It was only 30 seconds of the generic tune before Gemma’s voice came back. “I’ll put you through, Mr. Potter, just a second!”

“Theo?”

Harry could feel his cheeks heating up from hearing his voice alone. It was utterly ridiculous.

“Oh, eh, hi, Theo, it’s Harry. Uhm, Potter. From the police station?”

“Hi, Harry, how are you?” Theo sounded pleased, but not as if he’d caught on to Harry’s fumbling. And if he had, he wasn’t laughing at him, so Harry still counted it as a win.

“I’m alright, thanks, you?”

“I’m good, what can I do for you?”

Right, he needed to ask something. That had been the reason for his call, of course. “Oh, uhm, yes. I just wanted to ask if there was any way it could cause prosecution any problems if we went about a case… like, if we were to search their house, with a warrant of course, but we’d also search the car that’s been parked under their car port, but the car’s not on their name. If we found anything incriminating there, could we still use it as proof for the investigation?”

“Oh, eh, well, that’s a bit complicated. It depends on a number of things, but in general, yes, that could be a problem for your case. They could file it as procedural faults and get the lawsuit dropped as a whole.”

“Right, that’s what I was afraid of. Shit.”

“Uhm, Harry?”

“Yeah?”

“Am I wrong to presume that you’ve got paralegals at the station, for questions like these?”

Harry felt his face heat up again.

“Errrr,” he muttered.

“Or that you, as a detective inspector with more than a little bit of experience, would know about this?”

Harry fumbled again, unsure how to react now that he was called out on his silly behaviour. He shouldn’t have called. He should’ve waited until he saw Theo again, or not. Maybe he should’ve forgotten about it altogether. It was stupid, he was being stupid. Theo probably wasn’t interested, maybe he wasn’t even into men. He had only succeeded in making a total fool of himself. He tried to think of a way to break off the call without making himself look any more like an idiot but he came up blank.

“Harry?” Theo asked, breaking through the whirlwind of thoughts.

“Yes?”

“Gemma made a good call putting you through. I don’t mind answering any of your questions, and I definitely don’t mind talking to you.”

“Oh.”

Theo chuckled on the other side of the line. “I was thinking that we could maybe… meet up sometime? Like, plan to, instead of hoping we’ll see each other again for some case of yours?”

Harry was sure his face was about to catch on fire anytime soon. “Yes, I- I would like that.”

“Good. Me too. Would it be terribly forward of me to ask you for dinner? Tonight?”

Much to his relief, Harry finally seemed to find his wit back.

“While it is definitely forward, I don’t see anything terrible about it.”

He could almost  _ hear  _ Theo’s grin through the phone. “So you’ll come?”

“Well… While that’s not exactly a terrible prospect either, that might have been a bit  _ too  _ forward,” Harry chuckled, starting to laugh properly when Theo groaned on the other side.

“I - God. I didn’t mean it like that!”

Harry chuckled again. “I know, but it was too funny to let it slide.”

“Fine, I’ll give you it. But. If I text you my address, you’ll meet me there tonight? I’ll cook.”

“I wouldn’t want to miss it,” Harry promised. 

“Great. What time are you off work?”

“Five.”

“Excellent. I’ve got my last appointment at three, and after that I’ll just head home and get started on dinner. Just come over right after work, yeah? No need to dress up all fancy.”

“Only if you change out of your suit, I’d feel terribly underdressed if I showed up in my jumper and jeans if you were wearing one of your fancy lawyer-suits.”

Theo laughed at that, but promised he would change into something more casual before they hung up, Harry’s mobile beeping not long after to indicate the text message with Theo’s address.

Followed by another.

_ I’m looking forward to it xx _

Half an hour after clocking off, after hours of endless teasing from Ron, Harry was looking up against a fancy looking building. His own flat, though it was home to him and he had always been perfectly content living there, seemed shabby and tiny in comparison to the luxury apartments that were probably hidden behind the industrial looking facade. 

He took a deep breath before pressing the button next to Theo’s name, and couldn’t help his smile when he heard Theo’s voice crackling through the intercom.

“Hiya Harry, come in! I’m on the third floor!” he greeted him happily before a buzz indicated that the door was open.

Once he stepped out of the lift on the third floor, he didn’t know where to look first. Fancy apartment didn’t even begin to describe it. It was luxurious enough for the lift to open into the flat’s hallway instead of on the landing, and as soon as the doors slid open, Theo was there to let him in. The hallway was separated from the rest of the flat by large metal sliding doors, frosted glass paneling allowing some privacy. 

“Hi,” Theo smiled, and Harry awkwardly waved as he returned the greeting. A handshake was too formal, a kiss was too soon, a hug… was apparently Theo’s go to. 

It gave Harry the chance to breathe him in though, so he was not complaining. His scent was spicy from his aftershave, mixed with the soft scent of hair product and underneath lay something woodsy and clean. Harry found that he liked it. The hug was short but warm, and Harry’s insides quivered at the smile Theo gave him afterwards.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Theo added quietly.

Harry smiled back and nodded. “Me too. Quite the bachelor pad you’ve got here,” he remarked as he looked around the flat.

Theo groaned and rolled his eyes. “Please don’t call it that. It makes it sound like I pave the floors with pizza boxes, decorate the walls with liquor bottles and bring someone over to shag every other day.”

Harry grinned teasingly, “Oh, so you didn’t invite me over for pizza and a shag, then?” bursting into laughter when Theo shoved his shoulder.

“I made dinner for you, but it’s still on the stove, so if you’d be so kind to follow me to the kitchen?” Theo gestured to him to walk further into the flat, sliding the doors closed behind them before he led the way to the other side of the flat. It was a large, open plan apartment. Theo had created separate areas through the nifty placement of his furniture and by using different coloured rugs.

Harry noticed a large dining table in front of the floor to ceiling windows on the far wall, the kitchen situated against the wall with a big island separating it from the dining area.

“All jokes aside though, this place is really nice,” Harry remarked when they arrived in the kitchen and Theo pulled back a barstool for him to sit on.

“Do you prefer beer or wine? I’ve got soda as well, or something stronger, if you’d like,” Theo asked.

“Whatever you’re having is fine,” Harry smiled.

“That’s just pepsi in a fancy wine glass,” Theo laughed. “If you’re sure?”

“Positive,” Harry nodded.

“So uhm, yeah, I look at the flat as an investment, kinda?” Theo explained as he poured Harry’s drink. “I’m not going to lie, I’ve made good money over the last five years, and leaving it on the bank is just… not the smartest thing to do. So I decided to invest in real estate. Fell in love with the view from the windows as soon as I walked in here. The bedroom’s in the loft above the sitting area, facing east and watching the sun rise in the morning from your bed is just… awesome.”

“Thanks,” Harry smiled as he accepted his drink, sipping it before he put it down on the counter. “The view from here is already amazing, so I can definitely see the appeal. Food smells delicious, by the way.”

“I hope you’ll like it. I realised halfway through preparing it that I forgot to ask if there was anything you dislike or are allergic to…”

“No allergies, and I eat pretty much everything.”

They chatted a bit more while Theo finished his cooking, and Harry finally took the chance to look him over properly when he took off the cooking apron he had been wearing up until then. He’d kept his promise and got rid of his usual suit, instead wearing dark gray jeans and a collarless white button up. Harry couldn’t let his gaze linger for too long or he was sure he would be drooling on the countertop. 

The food was wonderful, and Theo deliciously blushed when Harry told him as much. They ate at the kitchen island, foregoing the large dinner table in favour of sharing a smaller space. 

“I’ll have to admit that I didn’t make the dessert myself,” Theo said as he was stacking their plates in the dishwasher. “I’m not much of a baker, and I passed by this bakery on my way home, so I thought I’d just cheat.”

Harry’s eyes lit up as he saw the box Theo grabbed from the fridge. “Cobra’s! Oh god, everything Mariana bakes is delicious!” He shuffled to the edge of his stool to try and see what was hidden inside the box. “What did you get us?”

“Just the leftovers, I’m afraid, she was already closing up. But it still looked delicious. I’ve got a slice of coconut and chocolate, and a lime cheesecake. You can pick first.” Theo offered, showing him the treasure. 

“Can we just share? I don’t think I can choose…” Harry pleaded, biting his lip. He noticed Theo’s gaze locking on his mouth and hid a smirk, only to exaggerate the lip biting before Theo’s eyes found his again. 

Theo cleared his throat and shook his head slightly before he grinned at Harry. “Sure, yeah, we can do that,” he nodded. “You wanna uhm, the couch, maybe?”

Harry was more pleased than he cared to let on to see Theo as flustered as he had been earlier. He had been quite sure that the feelings he fostered for the other man were mutual, but it was nice to see it confirmed in his actions.

“Couch sounds perfect.”

Theo handed him the box while he took out a plate and two small forks, handing Harry one as they sunk into the luxurious couch. 

“Damn it, why is your couch more comfortable than my bed?” Harry exclaimed, shuffling from left to right to emphasize his point.

“I- I am not going to finish whatever inappropriate comment was on the tip of my tongue,” Theo replied cheekily, cutting a bite from the chocolate cake to put it into his mouth.

Harry chuckled, smiling as he reached up to wipe a tiny crumb from Theo’s bottom lip.

They locked eyes, and he was quite sure they were about to share a kiss when suddenly Harry’s cell phone pinged, making them both jump up in surprise.

It was just a reminder for his early shift in the morning, but the moment was gone, and so was the opportunity for a kiss.

“I uhm, I really should get going,” Harry reluctantly told Theo once all the cake was eaten. “We’re on the early shift tomorrow, and getting up at four in the morning has never been my forte.”

“Harry! You should’ve said something, we could’ve rescheduled for another day! Now I feel guilty for taking away your sleep.”

“It’s fine, Theo,” Harry assured him, squeezing his arm lightly. “It’s only one shift and then I’ve got two days off before I work the weekend. I’ll live.”

“I sure hope you’ll live. I’ll see you out.”

They walked through the flat together, Harry watching as Theo pushed the sliding doors open just enough for them to slip through before he found the lift button.

“I really enjoyed tonight,” Theo smiled warmly, his hand coming up to rest on Harry’s upper arm.

“So did I. We should…” he was interrupted by the soft ding of the lift and he stepped to the side, blocking the doors with his body before he continued. “I would like to do it again.”

“Please.”

Harry smiled softly and let his hand move to Theo’s jaw as he stepped a tiny bit closer, tilting his chin to press his lips against Theo’s. 

The kiss was short and sweet, just a brush of their lips but it still made his lips tingle and his insides flip as he rubbed his thumb over the smooth skin of Theo’s jaw. “Call me,” he whispered before he let go and stepped back into the lift, waiting for the doors to close to break eye contact and releasing the breath he’d been holding for the last moments.


	7. Neville

It was still early, the shop not open yet, which was probably why she didn’t notice him standing in its window. He had seen her before. She had come in once, a couple of months ago, to buy a couple of the mini-succulents he had just purchased at the auction. After that, he’d spotted her a couple of times as she was looking at the shop window, usually whenever he had changed the setup, and especially if he had any succulents up front. 

Today, he was planning on a succulent-centered display, June was the ideal moment to sell them. They never minded the heat, nor if their owners forgot to water them over the holidays. The small pots standing right behind the window seemed to be what had drawn her attention once more. He didn’t know what exactly her obsession with succulents was, but he thought it was cute. 

Even if cute wasn’t exactly a word one would link her to, at first sight. She looked like many things; hot, confident, put together, smart, to name only a few. 

He shook himself as he noticed he was staring. His gran’s voice sounded in his head, telling him off for being impolite and he reached for the chalk marker he needed to write a new quote on the window.

His movement must’ve caught her attention, somehow, because the next time he looked over, their eyes locked, if only for a short moment before she looked away. He could see a beautifully pink blush rising from the V of her blouse, all the way up to her cheeks, and he couldn’t help smiling.  _ That _ was a bit cute. 

She gave him another furtive glance before switching her laptop case to her other hand and walking away, hips swaying in her short skirt. He wasn’t sure if he imagined it, but he thought he caught a glimpse of a lace stocking before she disappeared out of sight.

“Focus, Neville,” he chastised himself, shaking the chalk marker before he started to write the quote he’d decided on the day before. 

His handwriting never had been the neatest, but a lot of practice had gotten him a long way, and he thought it even looked somewhat pretty when he finally recapped his marker. He put it away after having checked for spelling mistakes but couldn’t find any, so he moved on to rearranging the plants onto the old wooden ladder he’d found in the charity shop down the street once.

The automatic switch had just turned on the spotlights above his head when he finally put the last of the succulents in its proper pot. 

He wormed his way out of the display and stepped outside to overlook his work, nodding happily when the quote was just over the succulent-filled ladder. He wasn’t entirely sure he wasn’t overdoing it, with the “Life succs without plants” combined with the new line of plant pots he’d found that all held funny plant-related quotes, but time would tell. Or he could always ask when one of his regulars came in. 

It had been a particularly slow Friday when he finally packed up for the day. After seven years of owning a plant shop, he knew from experience that Fridays could go both ways, he’d known them to be either super busy, or extremely slow. Rain never helped, as it took away the random clientele that was simply passing by and attracted by the shop’s front. Rain made people look at their feet and hurry towards their destination, no time to spare for plants. 

Neville was glad he had already prepared his last delivery for the day in the morning, when it hadn’t been raining as much. He didn’t want to think about having to deliver Susan’s wildflower arrangements for the Fountain while all of the flowers were drenched in an entire day’s worth of London downpour.

As usual on a Friday, the Fountain was bustling with patrons. It seemed as if everyone who worked or lived in the neighbourhood chose Susan’s pub to blow off steam at the end of the working week. He had asked a couple of times if it wouldn’t be more convenient for him to deliver at another time, another day, maybe, but she always waved him off, said she liked the flowers to be fresh for the weekends so Friday afternoon it had always been and probably would always be in the future too. 

Susan was the only one to get flower arrangements from him. He didn’t sell cut flowers, thought they were too much of a burden on their ecosystem so he usually stuck with plants. Susan knew about his flower meadow though. It was nothing more than a large field on his grandmother’s land, but, once she found that he was as into flowers and plants as his father had been, she had encouraged him to sow wildflowers. He still left most of it to the bees and the butterflies, but every week over the flowering season, Susan got her wildflower arrangements. 

In another life, another relationship, he might have considered it problematic, how she made him do something for her that he wouldn’t do for anyone else. His girlfriend would have made him believe it was problematic, how he did something for another woman that wasn’t her. 

But, also thanks to Susan, Ron and Harry, he now knew better. It had been the relationship that was problematic, not his friendship with Susan.

  
  


“Hi Suze!” he called, once he’d managed to get through the throngs of people standing around the pub, making it to the bar with the box of flowers pressed close to his torso. “Where do you want’em?”

“Just hand’em to Kira, Nev, she’s in the kitchen. I’ll arrange them later when all of these have gone home to their respective husbands and wives for dinner and we have some breathing room!”

Fortunately, the path to the kitchen was pretty much obstacle free, and once he had dropped off the box with Kira, he was able to move through the pub somewhat more easily.

“Nev!” 

He was almost at the exit when he felt a large hand clap his shoulder in enthusiasm. 

“You’re not leaving, are you? You should come sit with us, we’re celebrating!” Charlie told him, holding up three beers in demonstration. 

“I- I’m not sure, Charlie, I don’t want to intrude…” he hesitated. It wasn’t like he had any plans. He would just go home to his gran and watch TV with her, but he knew she’d be perfectly fine without him for the evening. 

“Nonsense! I’m inviting you. I won’t be signing a book deal every other week! Here, take these,” he ordered, thrusting two of the beers into Neville’s hands. “I’ll get another one and join you. We’re in the large booth close to the window, the one with the leather sofas.”

He knew which booth Charlie was talking about, even if Neville usually referred to it as the one with the aeschynantus overhead. While he made his way towards Charlie’s group of friends, he reminisced about that first time that Susan had set foot into his shop. She had been adamant about wanting to construct a pergola over the booth, and filling it up with plants, aeschynantus specifically. Neville had been apprehensive, but she’d put her foot down, so of course, in the end, he’d helped her out to try and give the plant the best chances to survive. Now, over 4 years later, he had to give it to her. The plant had thrived and filled up all the holes in the wooden structure, giving off a flowery scent all the while. 

As he approached, he could tell that Charlie’s usual crowd had grown even further. He had expected Millie, of course, and then Charlie’s brother Ron and his work partner Harry. Sometimes Blaise, Millie’s boss, also joined them, but now there were even more seats taken. Next to Harry sat a new guy, brown curly hair, a friendly face and a smart suit, who looked rather intimate with the policeman. To his right was Blaise, who was cozy with another new face, equally smart suit, but blond hair and a stubble. 

Charlie came up next to him before any of the others had noticed him, and took it upon himself to introduce everyone once he had claimed his seat in between Millie and Ron back. 

“Neville, meet Theo, Harry’s already laid claim on him, apparently, they won’t spill any of the details though. The blond is Draco, and she’s Pansy.”

Neville followed where his hand was waving, and did a double take when he recognised her, something else clicking in his mind.

_ Pansy Parkinson _


	8. Pansy

Pansy could feel her skin starting to flush as soon as she laid eyes on the man standing next to the sofa. That would be just her luck… 

She willed her skin to cool down again and offered him her kindest smile as he moved to sit in the only available seat left, next to her. Best to confront the issue right away, then.

“Hello, I don’t think we’ve properly met,” she smiled. “Though I’ve seen you in your shop.”

She offered him her hand and couldn’t help appreciate his firm grip as he shook it. She liked it when men weren’t afraid to grip her hand properly instead of treating her like she could break any minute.

“Yes, I noticed you’re quite fond of the succulents,” Neville chuckled. “But I take it you don’t remember then?”

Pansy lifted one eyebrow, confused about what he was talking about.

Neville chuckled again, his cheeks colouring the most delicious shade of pink. “Neville Longbottom, we went to primary school together,” he offered.

She felt her jaw drop as her mind flashed back to her final year at the small primary school at Rosehill. “No! No, you can’t be Neville Longbottom?!”

He lifted his hand and rubbed at the back of his neck. “The one and only,” he smiled awkwardly, biting his lip and darn it, she should really not let her eyes linger on it for as long as she did.

“But…”

“I’ve been told puberty did a glow up on me,” he laughed. “You definitely look better than you did at 11 too, though,” he teased goodnaturedly, throwing her a wink that made her thank the gods that she was sitting down because it made her feel weak in the knees. What on earth was wrong with her? She’d never before reacted this way to a man.

Maybe she was still feeling overly emotional, with David calling her in the morning to inform her that their arrangement ceased to exist now that he had a girlfriend. It wasn’t that she loved him or anything, but having someone to call when she really wanted to get off was… convenient. They had tried dating, years ago, and while that hadn’t led anywhere, they both enjoyed sleeping together so that had been something to go back to every now and then. So no, she wasn’t exactly love sick, but she still felt like she had been robbed of something. 

“Sorry, what?” she asked, realising that she had completely zoned out of their conversation.

“I was just asking about what you do for a living,” he explained, leaning back in the couch and twisting his torso so he could look at her properly. 

Crossing her legs, she found herself turning into him as well. “I’m a lawyer, actually. I’ve just recently started my own firm, together with Draco and Theo. We’re on the first floor above Blaise’s shop.”

“Ahhh, that explains why I’ve seen you walk past pretty much every morning over the last month.”

Pansy smiled cheekily, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Shit, that sounded way creepier than I intended,” Neville laughed embarrassedly. “Sorry, I don’t mean to say that I’ve been stalking you. I just… noticed you.”

She gave him a coy smile, filing the information he had just given her away, while she wouldn’t admit that she too had noticed him. At first it had been the selection of succulents he always seemed to have on display that had drawn her attention, but it hadn’t taken long before she had noticed the shop owner moving about the small space. She specifically appreciated it when he was rearranging things in a way that required him to bend over and… “Damn it, Parkinson, keep it together!” she scolded herself silently. 

“I’m particularly fond of succulents,” she heard herself say, and she mentally congratulated herself on changing the topic to something relatively safe. “I’ve got quite a few at home, and some at the office. Draco and Theo like to tease me over it.”

“What?! Why?”

He sounded sincerely offended on her part, and she thought it was a bit cute.

While Pansy explained the dynamics between the three of them, he kept listening to her with rapt attention, and she too found herself lost in their conversation, trivial as it may be.

When finally the group eventually broke up, she surprised both Neville and herself by pushing up on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek. The light stubble made her lips tingle, and she grinned at the way he blushed when she inspected his cheeks for lipstick stains.

“You’re good,” she nodded, biting her lip as she saw the way his eyes lingered on them.

“I really liked seeing you again,” Neville told her, leaning in for a small hug. “I had fun.”

“Me too,” Pansy replied, giving him a last wave as she followed Draco and Blaise outside. Draco had offered to share an uber between the three of them, as his appartement was close to hers, and apparently Blaise coming back to his was a thing now.

Draco looked at her as they waited outside for their uber to arrive, according to the app he was just around the corner. He challenged her to ask about Blaise, but she decided not to take the bait. Monday was soon enough to grill him. Besides, if she could manage to lull him into a false sense of security, it would only be more fun to surprise him when she did pounce.

  
  


“Good morning, Pansy,” Gemma greeted her as she walked into the office on Monday morning. “How was your weekend?”

Pansy huffed. “Quiet. Spent most of yesterday looking at the files for the clients I’m seeing this week. Hope yours was better!”

“Oh weekends are never quiet with a kid around,” she laughed. “Your ten o’clock appointment called that he would be 15 minutes late, and the hearing for the Diggory case has been postponed to next week.”

Pansy hummed, looking at the sheet Gemma handed her, containing her appointments for the day. There were five, but if she was lucky, she’d still be able to corner Draco to grill him about Blaise. Which reminded her, she still needed the gossip on Theo and Harry as well, but that would have to wait, as Theo apparently had another court day today. 

“Oh, and Pansy, before I forget, this has been delivered for you, bright and early this morning, I hadn’t even taken my coat off yet!” Gemma tutted, bending down to fetch the delivery she was talking about. 

Pansy took the small pot from her, biting her lip as it tugged up into a smile, seeing the small succulent inside. Looking at the white pot, she snorted as she noticed the quote that was engraved in the pottery. “Plants are my soil mates,” she muttered as she shook her head. “Adorable dork.”


	9. Draco

Draco jolted up right as he woke up from the alarm on his phone. The worst bit was that it wasn’t even a mistake that it went off at 7am on a Saturday. He glanced to the side, smiling when he saw the man next to him still in a deep slumber and then reached for the offending device to shut down the annoying beep. 

Rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands, he threw off the cover and moved from the bed as quietly as he could. Deciding to postpone breakfast until Blaise woke up, he prepared himself a coffee, wincing slightly at the massive amount of noise the machine made as it shred the beans. He still heard no movement from the bedroom though, it seemed like Blaise slept like the dead. 

Leaning against the kitchen’s windowsill, he looked outside, the sun glittering already off the Thames where it flowed somewhere down below.

He grabbed a dress shirt that was tossed onto a chair in the living room, finding it clean enough on closer inspection and pulled it on, buttoning it halfway up before he went to work.

Blaise found him an hour later, his cup long drained and his hair disheveled from running his hands through it while he worked on some files. 

“Morning,” the dark skinned man smirked from where he leaned against the door jamb. “Do you always work half naked? Because in that case, I might have to visit upstairs sometimes.”

Draco snorted at that, getting up from his chair and stretching before he walked over to where Blaise was poised against the cool glass of the door. He brushed their lips together in a lingering kiss and smiled when the other man keened lowly.

“I’d have to disappoint you. I tend to wear three piece suits to the office, and don’t take them off until I’m home.”

Blaise hummed. “Not complaining about those either,” he winked.

Draco chuckled. “Coffee? Breakfast?”

“I won’t deny either. But I thought I’d shower first, if that’s okay? I probably smell like awesome sex, and while I wouldn’t mind that if I got to stay here for the day, I don’t think customers would appreciate it as much as I do.”

“Go ahead, you moron,” Draco snorted. “I’ve put a towel out for you and I’ll make sure breakfast’s ready when you’re done.” He grinned happily when Blaise pulled him back from where he had started to turn towards the kitchen, capturing his lips in another wet kiss before he winked and went to use the bathroom.

Breakfast was just finished when Blaise joined him, wearing more than just his pants now, to Draco’s slight disappointment. 

“Oi, I wasn’t expecting a full spread,” he commented as he stepped into the kitchen. “I’ve got no time for a long brunch, got to open up in like, 45 minutes?”

“I know, and that’s fine. I wasn’t planning on making it this extensive, but I wasn’t sure what you liked so it ended up this way after all,” Draco shrugged. “I’ll just take the rest with me when I visit mum this afternoon, no worries.”

As they sat down and ate, talking about how their friend groups had strangely merged together quite easily the previous day, Draco felt himself relax. Maybe this could be something uncomplicated, for once. He liked Blaise, and they were compatible enough in the bedroom as well, as far as he could really judge that after just a couple of times. 

“I really should get going” Blaise said, regret sounding clear in his voice as he licked his finger to get rid of the chocolate spread that had gotten onto it. “See you again tonight, though? Millie’s off on Saturday afternoon, so I can’t pop off sooner than closing time.”

“I’d like that. I’m with my mum this afternoon anyway, so no worries. Where did you want to meet?”

“I could come back here, if you like? Or you can come by mine. Doesn’t matter. I’ll take care of dinner.”

“Yours is fine, then,” Draco smiled, standing up to pull Blaise into one last kiss as he got up to get his jacket and pull on his shoes.

“Great. I’ll be there around half six, normally? Just let me know when you’ll be around so I can start on dinner.”

“Ohhh, you’re even going to cook for me?” Draco grinned, laughing out loud when Blaise softly punched him in the shoulder.

“You just cooked us brunch for seven, idiot.” 

Draco let himself be pulled into the slightly broader man’s chest, wrapping his arms around his waist as their lips met once more. 

“Oh, Draco,” Blaise added, pulling back a little so they could look each other in the eye. “Perhaps we should also talk, tonight?”

Draco felt his lips tug down and swallowed the lump in his throat as he fought to get his smile back, but he was quite sure it didn’t reach his eyes as it had done earlier.

Blaise rolled his eyes and pressed another soft kiss to his lips. “Stop worrying, talking isn’t bad per se.”

“I’m not worried,” Draco tried, pulling his lips up a little further in hopes to convince Blaise.

“You know, considering you’re a lawyer, you’re awfully bad at lying,” the man told him. “I just want to make sure we’re on the same page. Just to ease your worry, I’m fine with whatever, but I think we should make it clear what we both want out of this before either one gets hurt because of poorly discussed expectations.”

“Yes, okay, I get it. I will not worry,” Draco rolled his eyes at Blaise. “And lawyers don’t need to be good at lying, you prejudiced idiot.”

Blaise chuckled and left with another brush of their lips, leaving Draco with the turmoil in his mind. 

Sighing, he decided on taking a shower, he wouldn’t be able to focus on work in this state of mind anyway. 

  
  


“Okay, so just so we’re clear. We’re going to be exclusive until either of us explicitly tells the other otherwise,  _ before _ anything happens with a third party. Yet, we’re not considering this a relationship,” Blaise summarised.

Draco groaned. “Fuck, that sounds just really stupid when you put it like that.”

“Hey now,” Blaise tutted, shifting so he was closer to him as they sat on the couch. 

Dinner had been delicious, and the discussion Draco had been dreading all day hadn’t been as awful as he had expected it to be. The red wine Blaise had been pouring generously surely helped as well.

He let Blaise pull him closer, willingly resting his head on the man’s firm shoulder while his hand caressed his upper arm. “As long as the two of us know what’s between us, and are okay with it, it doesn’t matter, does it? It’s nobody else’s business. And it’s fine, I understand what you’ve told me about not looking for a partner, and I respect that. But I’m also glad we’re on on the same page about not fucking around while we do what we’re doing.”

Draco looked up at him, slightly awkwardly from the way he was positioned, but he reveled in the smile they shared. 

“I feel lucky to have found you,” he murmured, allowing himself a far mellower moment than he usually would. 

Blaise’s smile widened. “That makes two of us, then,” he replied, leaning down to capture Draco’s lips in a kiss. “Are you staying over? Or do you have work to do tomorrow?”

Draco shook his head, shifting position so he could reach Blaise’s lips more easily for a deeper kiss. “No, I’ve done everything that couldn’t wait until Monday.”

Blaise’s grin turned feral at that, a facial expression that Draco had seen multiple times over the weeks since they had been shagging, and had grown rather fond of. He willingly let Blaise grab his hips and pull him onto his lap so he was straddling him. Pressing their chests together, he leaned forward, licking a stripe along the vein in Blaise’s neck, nibbling on his ear lobe. Draco smirked as he felt the other man rock his hips upwards, enjoying the idea that he was affecting him as much as the other way around. His smirk disappeared quickly though, when Blaise let out a low growl, quiet as it was, and shifted the both of them in one swift move. Before he properly realised it, he was on his back, sinking into the soft sofa as Blaise moved to lie down on top of him. Draco let out a gasp as Blaise nosed along his neck, licking behind his ear. “I’m gonna fuck you so good, Draco,” Blaise purred into his ear and Draco felt his insides flutter and his dick twitch at the sound. 

Blaise pulled back and smirked at him coyly. “Nice to know you’re enthusiastic about the idea,” he winked, licking into Draco’s mouth with a fervor that made Draco keen, unable to keep his hips from thrusting up in search of friction. His hands roamed Blaise’s back, squeezing the firm muscle in search of something to hold on to. Blaise pulled back but Draco lifted his head to chase his lips, pulling him back into a hungry kiss. He couldn’t tell which moan was released by whom, but it didn’t matter. Draco let his hands fall down to Blaise’s arse, pushing his hips down against his own while he rocked upwards, a groan escaping his lips as their erections rubbed together through their trousers.    
Blaise sat up on his knees then, and Draco was about to protest, until he felt his long, slender fingers unbuttoning his shirt. He scrambled to help, tugging it out of his trousers to pull it open while Blaise made quick work of his fly. Draco lifted his torso enough to tug off the shirt, looking appreciatively when Blaise pulled his own jumper over his head, leaving his well formed chest on display. He lifted his hand, trailing a finger from his throat, down the middle of his chest to his navel, tugging lightly on the soft trail of hair leading further down. He smiled at the awkward scramble Blaise made to get rid of both their trousers, taking their pants down in the same movement, but quickly felt his jaw drop when Blaise moved back on top of him. The firm weight of his body pressed Draco down into the couch, even more when he grabbed Draco’s wrists, pinning them over his head in one hand while the other started stroking his sides. Draco shivered when Blaise shifted his weight, holding himself up on his elbow while he let his tongue trail intricate patterns on his chest before he licked his way to Draco’s nipple. 

His back arched when Blaise took the pink nub into his mouth, rolling it between his lips as he sucked on it before releasing it again to blow cold air over it. 

He felt like time was suspended while Blaise caressed him, licked and bit all over his chest and abdomen before he shifted enough to lie between his legs. He’d let go of Draco’s hands by then, but Draco still hadn’t moved them from their position over his head. He found that he liked the feeling to be taken care of. 

As Blaise pressed soft, open mouthed kisses to the pale flesh of his inner thighs, he couldn’t stop his hips from lifting off the cushions, looking for friction that was nowhere to be found as he thrusted into the air. Draco found himself anticipating the warm wetness of Blaise’s talented mouth around him, but was surprised when the man neglected his erection completely, not even acknowledging how it was already weeping precome from their extended foreplay. Hadn’t he been so preoccupied, Draco would have questioned how easily Blaise could turn him on beyond the point of no return.

He was only half aware of his surroundings when Blaise lifted his legs, draping them over his shoulders before his hands grabbed his arse cheeks, pulling them apart slightly to breathe over the puckered muscle. Draco moaned, wriggling his exposed arse closer to Blaise’s face. Blaise smirked as he looked up, waiting until Draco looked at him before he winked and dived down. Draco heard himself keen high in his throat when Blaise’s mouth made contact with his sensitive skin. His tongue licked around his hole, a broad stripe of hot saliva cooling in the evening air before he repeated the motion, swirling it around Draco’s already twitching hole. He kept it up for a while, sucking, nibbling and licking around, avoiding the spots where Draco wanted him the most until he simply couldn’t wait any longer. “Blaise, please,” he whimpered, and he swore he could feel the man’s grin against his arse before he  _ fucking finally _ pointed his tongue and pushed it passed Draco’s rim, thrusting inside a couple of times before he pushed a finger inside alongside it. His other hand squeezed Draco’s arse, massaging it at the same pace he thrust his finger in and out. 

After a short while, he added another finger before he removed his tongue. Draco whined softly, but his disappointment was short-lived as he felt Blaise’s tongue lick a path across his perineum until his nose bumped against his scrotum. Draco noticed vaguely how his balls felt heavy with arousal but he didn’t have much time to consider it, as Blaise added to the pleasure by sucking one testicle into his mouth, rolling his tongue around it and tugging it down with a hint of teeth. 

Draco glanced down but soon realised his mistake as he saw his own dick, flushed an angry red and precome leaking down the length to pool in the patch of downy hair, highlighted by Blaise’s dark skin as he looked up at him with a smirk playing on his sinful lips. 

Draco moaned loudly, the sound reverberating off the walls as he squeezed his eyes shut, needing all of his willpower not to come. 

He pulled back with a filthy wet sound, Draco’s balls falling heavily against his thighs while Blaise licked his lips. “You can come,” he offered, his deep voice reverberating low in Draco’s stomach, and that was all he needed to clench down on Blaise’s fingers, thick white streaks of come landing on his chest while Blaise kept fucking him, massaging his prostate until nothing more was left.

Draco lay against the couch, panting heavily as he tried to smile at Blaise who’d removed his fingers once Draco’s trembling had ceased and crawled his way up to Draco’s face. 

He only now realised that his hands were still in the position Blaise had put them, over his head, and he winced at the stiff muscle when he brought them down to pull Blaise’s face to his own. 

He kissed him deeply, lips slickly sliding together as they licked into the other’s mouth. 

“Let me suck you off,” Draco murmured against the other man’s lips. “Like, in a bit, when I feel like my legs would cooperate if I tried moving them.”

Blaise grinned, a softness having replaced the feral look he’d had earlier.

“The night is still young, sweetheart,” he winked, and with that he jumped up off the couch, bending down to pick up Draco in his arms and carrying him into his bedroom.

Draco let out a bout of elated laughter when Blaise dropped him on the mattress, causing him to bounce a couple of times.

As he watched the other man crawl over to him, he grinned, knowing that this night had many things to offer still.

  
  
  


“Would you look at that, Draco Malfoy, in my office, what are the odds?” Pansy sneered as she strutted into her office, dropping her handbag on the visitor’s chair. “It was like you’d disappeared off the face of the earth for all of the week, and now you’re here!”

“Didn’t we have an agreement that you wouldn’t buy any more plants, Parks?” Draco asked, ignoring the jab. He might have worked from home more than he usually did, and he might have planned his client meetings so that he could avoid confrontation with Pansy, but that wasn’t all that important. He hadn’t been ready for her questioning regarding Blaise, but he knew he couldn’t avoid it forever. He needed to be at their office sometimes. And he missed her and Theo. Not that he would ever tell them that.

She poised on the edge of her desk, raising a perfectly manicured eyebrow at him.

“There’s at least four new ones,” he accused, holding up one of the small pots holding a tiny red and green succulent.

“I didn’t buy them,” she threw back. “What’s the story with Blaise?” she challenged.

It was now his turn to raise an eyebrow. “What’s the story with the succulents?”

“Hey, if you guys are sharing dirty little secrets, I want in,” called Theo from the doorway, smirking at them.

“What’s the story with Harry?” Draco and Pansy replied in unison, wiping the smirk right off his face.

“I’m gonna need coffee for this,” Draco sighed, putting the plant back on Pansy’s desk as he turned around to head to the kitchen. “Coffee for you too, Parks? And tea for you, I assume, T?”

“Please!” they both chimed, and Draco couldn’t help the small smile playing on his lips. It wasn’t perfect, but right at this moment, his life was pretty damn good.

“We just don’t want you to get hurt, Draco,” Pansy told him, shifting to put her stockinged foot in his lap for him to rub.

He sighed and rolled his eyes. “I know, but I told you already, it will be fine. We talked about it, he knows, he agrees and we’re doing it our way.”

Theo hummed, giving him a soft smile before he narrowed his eyes at Pansy. “Draco and I spilled the beans, so now it’s your turn, what’s with all the plants?”

“Are they Neville’s?” Draco suddenly asked as he remembered the man Pansy had been talking to all through the night the previous week. “They are, aren’t they?”

Theo’s eyes widened in delight when Pansy visibly wriggled on her desk. “Doesn’t he own that plant shop down the street?” 

“Wait,  _ Neville _ is the shop owner with the nice butt you’ve told me about the other night when we were getting drunk at yours?” Draco asked.

“You were getting drunk without me?” Theo interrupted, earning him a glare from Draco.

“Really, T, that’s what you take away from that? Besides, you were probably pining after Harry anyway.”

“He was, he went to the station and never came back, that’s why we decided to do takeaway at my place,” Pansy nodded. She huffed when Draco gave her a pointed look, urging her to answer his question. “Yes, he’s  _ that _ guy, okay?”

“Then tell me you’re going out on a date this weekend.” Theo told her.

“No! We’re not! Listen, we had a good time last week, and he’s being really cute sending me these plants, but it wouldn’t work between us anyway.”

Theo and Draco shared a weighted glance, fearing that Pansy’s self-deprecating shield had been put up again. 

“And why would that be?” Draco asked, squeezing her foot. 

“He’s just… he’s such a  _ good _ guy, you know? He lives with his gran, he volunteers for a million causes and runs the most wholesome shop in the world. I’m a shark. I feed off my counterparty's fears. I’ll destroy him.”

“Parks…” Theo started but she shook her head, pulling her foot off Draco’s lap. 

“We’d never work, that’s just how it is,” she stated, shoving her feet back into her heels as she stood to round her desk. “Anyway, I was still planning to do some work today, gentlemen.”

Draco sighed, letting his gaze linger on her as he stood. She might be worried about him, but it was the exact same thing the other way around. “We’re not done talking about this, Parks,” he muttered, picking up his cup as he made to leave her office.

“I never thought we were,” he heard her reply quietly, hardly audible over the shuffling of her papers.


	10. Neville

Humming as he finished gift-wrapping Millie’s order, he held it up to check it one last time. Charlie’s practice book-presentation at Zabink was scheduled for that evening, and while it was only a small occasion, their small group of friends was still excited about it. Millie had picked out a plant to put in the bright green pot that read “I’m rooting for you” and asked Neville to bring it along. 

It had been a little over three months since that Friday night, when Charlie had invited him over to their booth and ever since, they had met up on a regular basis. Usually Susan kept the large booth free for them and most of them would join whenever they could. 

Neville smiled as he thought of all the conversations he’s had with Pansy over the course of the month. However they never even mentioned all of the succulents he had sent her, even when Gemma had assured him that she was most definitely aware that it was him who sent them. Speaking about Pansy, he still had to pick out this week’s plant and deliver it. He was running late, as he usually made her delivery first thing in the morning, yet had chosen to finish Millie’s order first today.

Hurrying to the front of the store, he let his gaze roam over the selection of succulents on display. He winced as he thought of the glare Draco had given him the previous week and resolved to pick out a small one today. He had the perfect little pot picked out already, and he let his thumb slide over the engraving while he considered his options. Finally, he picked out a tiny specimen of the Chocolate Drops batch he’d gotten last week, put it in the pot and got his jacket to run down the street.

Summer was now officially gone and the chill of autumn had begun to seep in, but that also meant that work was quite a bit calmer now. His plants didn’t require as much upkeep as they did in spring or summer, so he had more time to spend on other things. 

He had hoped Pansy could’ve been one of those things, but it didn’t look like that was going to happen any time soon. As nice and fun as their talks were, she always seemed to keep him at a distance. Friends, that was apparently all they were. 

It still didn’t keep him from keeping up with his ritual though. Every Monday morning, a fresh succulent was to be delivered to Malfoy, Nott and Parkinson, and as long as she didn’t tell him to stop, he wouldn’t. 

“Morning Gemma,” he smiled at the friendly receptionist he’d gotten to know rather well by now. 

“Hi there Neville,” she grinned knowingly. “Another one?”

Neville shrugged, putting the pot on top of the reception desk. “Can I leave it with you?”

“Oh I wish I could be the one to keep it, it’s a pretty little thing, and if my hubbie would let me, I’d buy the entire line of punny pots from you. I’m quite sure I’ve seen Pansy come in this morning though, you can just go through to her office.”

“If you’re sure?” he double checked. While he had often glanced at the door with Pansy’s name on it, he had never spotted her in there. Not this early in the morning, at least.

“She’s got no clients planned until 11, go ahead!” Gemma gestured.

He shrugged, picked the pot back up and felt like he was being watched as he walked the short distance, but that was probably just the nerves of actually seeing her when he delivered the gift. There was no way they could avoid talking about it now. He let his knuckles rap against the open glass door as he slowly stepped inside.

He hadn’t spotted her, until she moved to look up at her visitor. She had been sitting on a small stool next to the window, leaning against the glass as she looked outside and drank her morning coffee. “Oh! Neville…” she exclaimed, “I wasn’t expecting anyone.”

“I won’t be long,” he apologised, holding up the plant in his left hand. “Just came over to deliver this, Gemma said I could come through. But I won’t bother you any longer, you’ve got work to do, and I’ve got to open the shop anyway, so…” he trailed off when she didn’t react, her eyes trained on the tiny plant in his hand.

“You’re not bothering me, it’s alright.” She stood up and crossed the distance to where he was still hovering near the door, biting her lip as her heels clacked on the concrete floor.

Finally, when she was close enough to be able to read it, she snorted as she noticed the line on the pot. “You are plant-astic?” she shook her head.

He simply shrugged. It wasn’t the first time he’d given her one of his punny pots, but this one was the first unmistakable compliment. “I really think you are… Plant-astic, I mean.”

Pansy chuckled, took the plant she was offered and looked from it to Neville and back. “Thank you,” she softly said, and stepped a bit closer to kiss his cheek. “Both for the plant and the compliment.”

“You’re welcome” he stuttered, lingering a short moment longer before he turned around and walked back to the lift. His right hand pressed to his cheek and unaware of Gemma who wished him a nice day, as well as Theo who stepped out of the lift when he entered.

It was only when the cold rain hit him in the face that he realised he had moved from Pansy’s office to the street again, not recalling in the slightest how he had gotten there. He cursed at the heavy rain and made a run for it as he tried to hold his jacket over his head. With this amount of rain, it wouldn’t really make a difference, but he could at least attempt not to reach his shop looking like a drowned rat. 

As his feet splashed through the quickly formed puddles, he made out the woman who was waiting under the shop’s awning and he inwardly cursed himself for taking longer than he should have as he was now late for his opening time.

“Hello, I’m so sorry to keep you waiting,” he panted as he finally reached his door, fishing out his keys to let himself in, the woman following close behind him.

“Oh, not to worry,” she tutted, giving him a bright smile as he shrugged off his soaked jacket and hung it over a chair to dry. “I’m here to offer you an opportunity.”

He raised an eyebrow but gestured at her that he was listening.

The woman introduced herself as Tina Kennard and quickly explained that she was an old acquaintance of Susan, who had moved to LA years ago, but was now in London for a film shooting for the independent film studio she worked for. They needed plants, lots of it, and Susan had told her he was the one she needed for the job, so she wanted to know if he was up for it.

“I’m not saying no,” Neville answered as he looked at the mood boards that she had spread out on the counter. “But I’m going to have to check what I can get on the market these days. It’s likely that not everything will be available, both in England and in autumn. I’m guessing these mood boards were made in LA, with LA-based graphics.” 

He chuckled when Tina nodded sheepishly. 

“Give me ‘til the end of the week, and I’ll have an answer for you.”

“Perfect, I’ll come by first thing in the morning on Friday. Thanks for considering it, Neville!”

“Well, it’s honestly not really something I can afford to turn down without at least looking into it,” he chuckled, giving her a small wave as she left the shop.


	11. Susan

Five days. It had been sitting in her bag for five days. She had been looking at it from time to time, touched the thin cardboard box endlessly, hoping she wouldn’t be needing it after all, but yesterday she had finally decided she couldn’t keep putting it off. 

She wasn’t sure if she had been hoping that Ron would notice the box in her bag, or her odd behaviour, or that she’d rather he wouldn’t. Nothing was easy anymore. 

Her head felt like it was going to explode, but she still forced herself to get out of bed. Ron had left for his early shift only five minutes earlier, unaware that Susan had been lying awake all night, counting the minutes until she could open that sodden box and take the test.

The test was easy enough, especially since it wasn’t her first time taking one. They’d had a bit of a scare early on in their relationship, but back then, they had at least agreed that it was too soon. 

This time though, she wasn’t so sure what Ron would think of it, if they would be on the same page. More than being afraid of the result, she was scared of what would come after. That was also the main reason that she hadn’t told Ron about it yet. Maybe that was a bad thing, but whatever the blasted thing would tell, she’d need some time by herself to process it. 

Mindlessly, she went through the different steps that were described in the manual, setting her alarm for five minutes and waited. 

The minutes dragged on, feeling like hours, but she still jumped when her alarm went off. 

Two lines. 

It wasn’t a surprise, not really. From that first day that she realised her period was late, it had felt different. She had started noticing things that she’d always attributed to long days at work with a lack of healthy meals and a regular schedule. She was always tired and bloated and her breasts were sore, and rationally, she knew that she couldn’t blame all that on her work at the bar because she had been doing that for years. 

Let that be the exact problem. She had been working at the bar for years, it was the one thing she was good at, her life savings were in it and she wouldn’t know what else to do. How could she ever combine that with a baby? 

“Fuck!” she bursted out, throwing the flimsy plastic thing against the opposite wall, but it was sturdier than it looked, landing right in front of her feet with the two pink lines blinking up at her mockingly. 

Fuck. She was pregnant. What was she going to do?

Trying to stay calm, she decided to just do what she had to do. First things first: get dressed. Then breakfast. Guiltily, she left the box of honey pops where it was and instead grabbed Ron’s semi-healthy yoghurt. She found some stale granola in the back of the kitchen cabinet and sliced a pear. There, that was fruit  _ and _ carbs  _ and _ protein, probably the most balanced breakfast she’d had in a year’s time.

Swallowing thickly, she wiped a treacherous tear from her eye and banged her fist on the table. “Shite mum, why’d you have to get yourself killed?” she yelled at no one in particular as more tears gathered, streaming down her face in a confusing mixture of grief and anger. 

Finally, after a couple of minutes, the tears dried up and sniffling, she put her bowl away. She wasn’t hungry anymore.

Millie, she realised. Millie would listen without judgement, and she would know what to do next. She wasn’t her mum, not even a sister, but still the closest to it. 

A quick look on the clock told her that she would be opening the shop soon, it was too late to intercept her before work, so Susan decided to push her luck and hope that it would be quiet this morning. After washing her face in an attempt to look less like she’d been sobbing over breakfast, she went to grab her shoes and shot off a quick text to Kira to let her know that she would be in a bit later.

As she stepped outside, she realised that the weather matched the occasion. It was a dreary and grey September morning, and it looked like it would start raining soon. Probably one of those annoying drizzles that were hardly enough to open an umbrella for, yet always managed to get you soaking wet within minutes. 

Flipping the hood of her sweater over her head, she walked the five blocks to Zabink, releasing a deep breath when she pushed the door open to find Millie alone in the shop.

“Oh, hi Suze!”” She called, looking up from her computer screen for a short moment. “You’re up early! Did you want to order something new for the Fountain?”

“Hey Mils. No, I- uhm. Blaise not in?”

Millie rolled her eyes while she continued typing. “He’s upstairs with our lawyer-neighbours. Draco apparently urgently needed his opinion on something. Probably how his arse looks in his trousers or something,” she smirked. “Did you need him? I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if I called to come down here.”

Susan smiled subduedly as she shook her head, walking closer to the counter. 

Millie looked up at her again, frowned and then moved her keyboard out of the way. “Are you okay love?”

Much to her abhorrence, Susan let out a strangled sob as she felt herself tear up again. She shook her head in lieu of a verbal reply. Millie had dropped all her things as soon as she noticed that Susan was most definitely not okay, and hurried around the counter to pull her into a hug.

“Hey now love, what’s going on? Something happened with Ron?” she asked, horrified by the idea.

Susan shook her head. “No, no, Ron is fine,” she winced. “Though you could say  _ something  _ happened with Ron.”

“You’ve lost me there, love,” Millie frowned.

Susan sighed, hiding her face in the other woman’s shoulder. “I’m pregnant, Millie,” she sniffled.

Millie stayed quiet for a bit, Susan could hear her breath hitch next to her ear, but before she could question it, the moment had passed.

“I take it you weren’t trying?”

Susan shook her head. “No, not at all.”

Millie let go of her in favour of looking her in the eye. “Are you afraid that Ron won’t want it?”

Susan chuckled wetly. “I think I’m afraid that he  _ will  _ want it,” she confessed. 

“You don’t want it.”

She exhaled shakily. “I don’t know Millie. I mean - I run a bar. It’s my job, it’s what I do. How am I ever going to combine The Fountain with a baby? Can you imagine me waggling through the pub, serving drinks while eight months along? Not to mention it would be completely impossible to find daycare, since I’m mostly working evenings and nights, and Ron has his shiftwork as well.”

“It wouldn’t be easy,” Millie agreed, thoughtfully. “Listen, I’m going to call Blaise to come down here and take over the shop. We need tea.”

Susan sniffed and smiled. “No, Millie, I wouldn’t want you to skip work for me, we’ll talk later, I’ll be fine,” she tried, but even to her own ears that didn’t sound very convincing.

“Nonsense,” Millie shook her head. “Ah, speaking of the devil.”

Turning towards the noise behind her, Susan saw Blaise entering the shop, an easy smile playing on his lips.

“Did you need me, ladies?” he smirked, pulling off his coat as he approached the counter.

“Yes,” Millie replied firmly. “Family emergency, I’ll be back later.”

Susan looked between them in surprise, unsure how Millie’s declaration would be received by her boss, but Blaise simply shrugged, mumbled ‘okay’ and took Millie’s place behind the counter.

  
  


An hour, a pot of tea and five bathroom visits later, Susan felt marginally better. Millie had managed to talk her down from her panic, and made her see some reason at least.

“Good luck,” Millie told her, squeezing her shoulder as their ways parted in front of Zabink. “Let me know if I can do anything, yeah?”

Susan nodded. “Thanks Millie, it means a lot.”

“That’s what sisters are for, right?” Millie smiled. “Keep me posted.”

  
  


Ron’s look when he finally noticed her approaching his desk was one of surprise. “Suze? What are you doing here, is everything alright?”

She smiled as convincing as she could manage, waving at Harry when he called in greeting. “Yeah, I was just wondering if we could have lunch together? I’ve brought us sandwiches,” she told him, holding up the bag from the delistore she knew Ron loved. 

Ron’s face lit up. “Yes! Today’s been awfully slow, so it’s a welcome surprise. You want to sit here, or.”

“You can use room two,” Harry interfered. “It’s free.”

“Thanks,” Susan smiled at him, grateful that he had seemed to pick up on her need to get Ron alone.

Susan hated the way she broke down before she had even managed to tell Ron. She felt like a bumbling idiot when Ron had gathered her into his arms, pulling her into a warm, firm hug before he pulled back and gently kissed her lips. 

“It will be alright,” he had told her. “We hadn’t planned this, but we did want kids, one day, didn’t we?”

Susan had nodded at that, because yes, she had always known that Ron wanted a full house like the one he had grown up in. To her, the idea of multiple kids had been appealing, especially since she knew how hard it was when you had to arrange everything on your own when there were no siblings. It had always been a kind of distant dream though, nothing she had imagined they’d start now.

“We’ll figure this out, Suze, together we’ll figure out what to do next, alright? We can do this.”

“Yeah?” she had asked, voice still shaky with tears.

“We always figure it out, don’t we?” 

After her emotional breakdown, they had eaten, talking quietly about what to do next. Susan would call her gynaecologist’s office first thing after arriving at The Fountain, and they agreed not to tell everyone yet. Millie knew, of course, and that meant Charlie would probably find out about it too, but other than that, they wouldn’t tell anyone until they had figured it out for themselves.

Millie had been right, Susan thought as she quickly made her way to The Fountain to help Kira out with their early patrons. Things would work out, in the end. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates might be a bit slower than they have been before, but I'm currently working on a couple of fest-pieces that require time and attention as well... I still love my succulents though, so I'm definitely coming back to this regularly!
> 
> Thanks to GCGraywriter for the help with fleshing out some plots <3


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